HungryMan Gallery presents a modest collection of work from Casey McGonagle, his first solo exhibition in Chicago.

It is McGonagle's play with repeated symbols and compositions that thread this selection of images together, somewhat constructing a narrative of his most recent journey through New Mexico and Los Angeles this past winter. These photographs are a testament of his dedication to a life of image making, in which he aspires to be taken seriously through his non-arbitrary presentation of black and white. There is no question that the works of Walker Evans, and his protege Robert Frank are called to reference — pioneers in the genre of photographing the American road trip and the genesis of documentary photography. McGonagle is careful to avoid his images becoming trapped in social realism, but capitalizes on his dramatization of the actual — capturing particular truths while simultaneously transcending them. This is reiterated in Aaron Siskind's words:

We came to see that the literal representation of a fact (or idea) can signify less than the fact or idea itself (is altogether dull), that a picture or a series of pictures must be informed with such things as order, rhythm, emphasis, etc., — qualities which result from the perception and feeling of the photographer, and are not necessarily—(or apparently) the property of the subject.

Casey McGonagle was born in Los Angeles (1977) and is currently pursuing his BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work has appeared in numerous group shows and in a recent solo exhibition at Kokoro Studio in San Francisco.

April 10 — April 24, 2010

Opening Reception 6-11p, April 10
Closing Reception 12-5p, April 24